A COUNCILLOR who joined opposition to a new house on a road he said would make the plot “crowded” has been chastised for not turning up to its planning meeting.

Conservative Cllr Chris Whitehead reproved fellow Tory Cllr Ron Gaffney for failing to show up to a West Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee, which saw the property he opposed in Clauds Close, in Hazlemere, given approval.

Cllr Whitehead rejected a number of concerns raised by other councillors about parking, manoeuvrability, and how the new four-bedroom house will fit with the street, saying: “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

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He added he felt Cllr Gaffney should have been present at the October 13 meeting to challenge the application he had called in.

Cllr Whitehead urged chairperson Julia Adey to write a formal letter saying as much.

Mr Short, the applicant, plans to pull down an existing garage and in its place build a four-bed detached house with two off-street parking spaces in the site’s “unusually large side garden”.

There is a semi-detached house on the proposed site already, which is at the end of a cul-de-sac off Clauds Close, and characterful of other surrounding semi-detached properties.

Mr Short’s proposal is “considered acceptable in principle”, according to council documents.

However, Cllr Gaffney said the new property would make the site “far too crowded” and “totally go against the street scene”.

He added: “There is opposition to this plan from local residents. I cannot support this application.”

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Hazlemere Parish Council said the new property would only add to existing “access, traffic and parking issues” on Clauds Close.

Neighbours opposing the build have also cited increased traffic and parking problems, but the highways authority sees no issue provided plans for parking and manoeuvring features are carried out before the new house is occupied.

Members voted in the majority to approve the application.

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